After defeating No. 16 SIU Edwardsville, the Cougars beat No. 8 Gonzaga. Then, they upended No. 4 Purdue and No. 2 Tennessee to reach the Final Four. Houston became the first program since 2017 North Carolina to navigate the most difficult seed path possible for a No. 1 team.

The BPI considers various metrics, such as each team's offensive and defensive strength, strength of schedule, record, and more, to determine rankings and projections. The computer-based system also predicts each team's chances of winning the National Championship.

Duke’s stream of NBA-ready standouts used smothering defense and other options on offense to paper over Cooper Flagg’s rough shooting night and lift the Blue Devils to the program’s 18th Final Four with an 85-65 victory over Alabama.

Duke’s win over Alabama was convincing in a lot of ways but not least of all because of the defense: instead of closing late, Alabama just wilted as Duke expanded the lead from 65-58 with 8:03 left to a 20 point lead when it was over.

No. 1 seed South Carolina clinched a trip to a fifth consecutive Final Four with a 54-50 win against second-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight game of the NCAA Tournament. The win comes nearly 10 years to the date after South Carolina punched a ticket to its first Final Four.

The top-seeded Gamecocks are two wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as champions since UConn won four straight from 2013-16. South Carolina will play the winner of the Texas-TCU game that takes place Monday night.